Lady Gladiators hit by Storm

Lady Gladiators hit by StormPublished Monday July 25th, 2011 SupHer Bowl | Saint John Maritime football champs Football: Port City women down Capital Area Gladiators by 23 points to capture their third league title in four years July 26, 2011

B8LAUREN BIRD TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

It's a back-to-back title for the team and its third in four years.

"Victory is sweet," said the Storm's head coach Jim Mather. "It's what we worked for this year."

The Storm downed Fredericton's Capital Area Gladiators 31-8 at Moncton's Rocky Stone Park. The Gladiators went 3-3 in regular action and fell to the Storm twice this season.

"I was nervous before the start but we got it going right off the bat. The offense moved the ball well on the field for us and we started scoring right in the first quarter so that took the pressure off," Mather said.

Michelle Young-Mather started things off with a quarterback keeper for a touchdown. April Williams made the convert. Soon after, Lori Boyles returned the ball for a 60-yard touchdown converted by Williams.

By halftime another two touchdowns and a convert put the Storm at a 30-point lead.

"They played very well as a team," Mather said. "They came together as a team for this one. That loss earlier in the season really helped to get everybody back and focused."

The Storm suffered their first loss in two seasons against the Moncton Vipers in the last game of regular play putting them 5-1.

"The athletes are getting better and it's more competitive now than it was years ago," he said of the league, which is now eight years old. Mather has been with his squad for four years.

In the third quarter Alex Black of the Gladiators ran the ball for a five-yard touchdown, the convert was made by Janelle Brine.

Trina Graves of the Storm, punted the ball 45 yards into the end zone for a one point rouge to conclude the scoring in the fourth quarter and ensuring the Storm's victory.

"They had a game plan but we had one to top theirs. "We wanted to control their quarterback from running outside and all over the place so our defence shut them down," Mather said.

Three championship titles might be enough to satisfy some coaches but Mather has his sights on another, and being a man of few words he makes them count.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll be around next year."

Storm ready to rage

Storm ready to ragePublished Saturday July 23rd, 2011 MWFL Gladiators will offer Saint John squad all they can handle in final C12scott briggs telegraph-journal

SAINT JOHN - It was the wake-up call the Saint John Storm needed. Back on July 9, they suffered a 28-7 setback to the Moncton Vipers. And while the Storm's 5-1 regular-season record was tops in the Maritime Women's Football League, their only defeat of the season reminded them not to take any opponent for granted.

That's the mindset they'll employ in today's SupHer Bowl VIII championship game against the Capital Area Gladiators at 4 p.m. at Rocky Stone Field in Moncton. The winner earns the right to hoist the Judy Upward Trophy. Saint John is gunning for its second straight title.

"That loss kind of put us in our place," Storm head coach Jim Mather said. "We had to regroup. A loss gets the team focused. Otherwise, they're walking through everything. We're not overconfident going into this game."

The Storm's loss came on the final day of the regular season, but they rebounded with a 55-0 whitewashing of the Halifax Xplosion in the semifinals. The Gladiators will be a much tougher test. While Saint John went 2-0 in head-to-head action, one of the tilts was tied 8-8 in the late going before the Storm erupted for 16 points en route to a 24-8 victory.

"They're a good team and they have a good coaching staff," Mather said. "They adjust well to different game situations. They have a good all-round game and their defence is good. Their quarterback (Alex Black) likes to throw the ball and throwing can be hard to handle in the girls' game."

Mather said the running game will be key for the Storm, whose offence is led by quarterback Michelle Young-Mather.

Capital Area owns a 4-3 record including their 41-38 semifinal triumph over Moncton.

"It was the ability of the offence to keep rolling while the defence found itself," Gladiators head coach Steve Drisdelle said about the playoff win. "The key was our composure at the end of the game and our ability to pass and run effectively."

"I think if we play a good, clean game of football and stick to the basics, we'll be all right," the coach said.

"We're a defence-first team, but we also have a very strong running game."

Black offers a variety of skills at the pivot position.

"She's probably one of the best passers in the league and she's dually lethal as a running threat," Drisdelle said. "Any time she scrambles out of the pocket, you have to play the run. She's that deadly."

Meanwhile, Rocky Stone is also the site of the Friendship Bowl game between Moncton (3-4, including semifinal loss) and Halifax (0-7, including semifinal loss). Kick-off is 1 p.m.

Unbeaten Storm doesn't rebuild & Storm taste defeat

QUISPAMSIS - For two years the Saint John Storm have been a force to be reckoned with in the Women's Maritime Football League. Under head coach, Jim Mather, they haven't lost a game they've played in two seasons.

"We're pretty organized," he said. "We get them in the gym in February and get them conditioned properly."

And then, success comes down to "just pushing them," he said.

But the success the team has gained this year was unexpected, said team captain Lisa Harlow.

"Going into to the season we expected a rebuilding season. We have a lot of new players but we've come together as a team. We try not to think about being undefeated, we just try look at every game the same and work hard," she said.

Of the 25 players on the roster, 10 are rookies, six had never played football before.

But the Storm's strong defence more than makes up for any lack in experience.

"We've only had 14 points scored against in five games, that's pretty remarkable. It's hard work and being a team and it's not just one person, it's everyone together," said Harlow, who quarterbacks the team.

On Saturday at 4 p.m, they'll finish their regular season with a game at Usher Miller Field against the 3-2 Moncton Vipers. The second-place Vipers will be their toughest competition yet, according to Mather.

"They have a very good team. They have a solid offence and solid defence every time we've played them," Mather said.

The last time the teams met the Storm won 39-0.

"We never take them lightly because you never know with a team," Harlow said. "We have to bring our game. We can't let up at all."

Last year, the Storm took the Maritime Women's Football League championship. And they're in a good place to repeat.

"It'd be back-to-back championships, which is what we're striving for right now," Mather said.

They'll take on the fourth place Halifax Xplosion July 16 at 4 p.m. at Usher Miller Field to open up playoffs.

Storm taste defeat in the rain Published Monday July 11th, 2011

Football: Saint John still finishes regular season in first as it prepares to host semifinal matchup next weekend B8Lauren Bird Telegraph-Journal

QUISPAMSIS - In the last regular game of what was their perfect season, the Saint John Storm came face-to-face with their namesake.

They played through the harsh wind and rain on Saturday to no avail. They fell to the Moncton Vipers 28-7, ending an undefeated two years in the Women's Maritime Football League.

"Moncton played very well and we didn't show up to play," head coach Jim Mather said of the game. "We made a lot of mistakes and they played really well."

The lone Storm touchdown was scored on a 15-yard pass from Michelle Young-Mather to Lisa Harlow. The pair also teamed up to score on a one-point conversion pass.

Tara Keohan, Justine Barter, Kristen Chatterton and Tina Herington had a touchdown each for Moncton, 4-2, while Keohan added two, two point conversions for a total of ten points.

The 5-1 Storm and the Vipers met in the first game of the season when the Storm won 12-6.

Mather is confident his team, which won the Maritime women's championship last year, will do well in playoffs.

"We'll be alright," he said. "We play Halifax this Saturday in KV; we'll adjust and be prepared for the finals whether we face Fredericton or Moncton."

On Saturday, at Usher Miller Field at Kennebecasis Valley High School, the Storm face the Halifax Xplosion, who are winless this season, to begin the playoffs.

Saint John football teams dominate

SAINT JOHN - The road to perfection is a narrow one but two Saint John senior football teams are taking it in stride. Both the women''s Storm and the men''s Wanderers continued their winning streak in this weekend''s action.

It could have been anyone's game on Friday night when the Wanderers took on the undefeated Moncton Mustangs at the Canada Games Stadium. The Mustangs have the top ranked defence in the Maritime Football League but were no match for the home team who downed them 21-3.

Jon Haines led the way for the Wanderers with a touchdown in the first minute of play and a conversion by Jeffrey McQuade. Before halftime John Golacki had a quarterback sneak for another touchdown while McQuade complemented with the extra point making it 14-0.

Well into the third quarter Thomas Blight of the Mustangs scored a 25-yard field goal to put Moncton on the board. With just three minutes remaining in the fourth, Golacki went long to Ryan Crouse for a touchdown and again McQuade added the extra point for a 21-3 finish. The Mustangs fell to 4-1 while the Wanderers remain perfect at 5-0.

The Storm also moved 5-0 after taking down the winless Halifax Xplosion 50-0 on Saturday in Halifax.

Michelle Young-Mather started the game off with a touchdown off a 40-yard punt return; April Williams made the two-point conversion. Young-Mather added another touchdown before the second quarter with a 10-yard quarterback keep and Williams had the convert.

Lori Boyles ran a 25-yard touchdown and Williams added with the convert to make the score 24-0 going into half-time.

Sherry Rowe had back-to-back touchdowns in the third, Williams converted both. To top it off in the fourth quarter, Lisa Harlow scored with a 12-yard touchdown run, converted by Williams. Another two-point safety concluded the game.

Defensively, Kelsey Cormier and Harlow both had a sack and a fumble recovery while Trina Graves had five tackles.

Storm protect their perfect 4-0 records

SAINT JOHN - Saint John's senior football teams came out of the weekend''s action adding to their perfection, both the Wanderers and the Storm now boast a 4-0 record.

The Saint John Storm remain undefeated in the Maritime Women's Football League with a victory over the Fredericton Lady Gladiators 22-0 on Saturday.

It was a wet game on the field at Kennebecasis Valley High School but Saint John's defense managed to put a wall Fredericton was unable to penetrate. The Storm's Jill Cox intercepted a pass by Fredericton in the first play of the game from scrimmage and ran it for 15 yards, it was returned for Saint John''s first touchdown. The tone was set.

In the second quarter, Lisa Harlow ran for a 15-yard touchdown while April Williams made the convert to put the Storm at 13-0 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, Trina Graves kicked a rouge for the Storm putting them at 14-0. The fourth quarter sealed the deal with a 10-yard keeper from Harlow and a two-point conversion by Williams to up the score to 22-0.

The Storm continue league play Saturday, July 9, at the KVHS field against the Moncton Vipers.

In other football action, the Saint John Wanderers took down the Dartmouth Knights 30-26 on the field at Dalhousie University. Scoring for the Wanderers was Justin Robichaud on a 30-yard pass from quarterback Jon Golacki in the first quarter. Ryan Crouse scored a touchdown in the second quarter while Doug McPhee and Golacki had touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters respectfully. Kicker, Jeffrey McQuade added three points in conversions.

Scoring for Dartmouth was Ryan Moxom with two touchdowns and LiMario Simmonds and Gabe Colley with one each.

The 4-0 Wanderers will take on the 4-0 Moncton Mustangs at the Canada Games Stadium on Friday at 8 p.m. The Wanderers are ranked number one offensively in the league with 132 points for, while the Mustangs have the top defense with only 17 points against.

Storm wreaks havoc for Lady Glads

Lori Boyles picked off an Alex Black pass and went on to score a 45-yard touchdown with about eight minutes remaining to power the Saint John Storm over Capital Area RV Lady Gladiators 24-8 in Maritime Senior Women's Football League action Saturday at Scotiabank South.

The victory improved Saint John's record to 3-0 and dropped the Lady Glads to 2-1. Boyles also scored early in the first quarter, taking a 40-yard pass from Lisa Harlow to the end zone. April Williams added a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Lady Glads tied it up in the third quarter when Katelyn Thibodeau ran it in from about five yards out for the score. Janelle Brine made the two-point conversion to tie the game.

It remained that way until the Boyles interception and score. Williams again made the convert. Robyn Richardson sealed the deal for the Storm when she picked off another Black pass and ran it back 50 yards for the touchdown with about a minute to play. Williams added the conversion, completing the scoring.